


Talk Me Down

by shimcko



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Nightmares, SHEITH - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-04
Updated: 2017-12-04
Packaged: 2019-02-10 16:05:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,065
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12915378
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shimcko/pseuds/shimcko
Summary: The world Keith saw in his nightmares only seemed even more hellish than his reality.Shiro can't stand to see the man he loved be sentenced to suffer alone each and every night.





	Talk Me Down

**Author's Note:**

> "Cause you know that I can't trust myself with my three A.M. shadow  
> I'd rather fuel a fantasy than deal with this alone  
> I wanna sleep next to you  
> But that's all I wanna do right now  
> So come over now and talk me down."

For some, the night brought tranquility. It meant time to be alone, time to unwind from the stressful, involved day each paladin had lead. For Keith, however, it was a quite different story. 

The night was when each and every one of Keith’s demons would come out to play, dancing about his already crippled amount of self-worth, and daring to damage the self-confidence he’d spent so, so long building up. 

The sights he’d see behind his eyelids were even less inviting. 

Things Keith almost remembered and things he wished he could forget would play on repeat, and no matter how many times he’d watch them unravel, the pain never lessened - it never became easier to handle. Keith would rise in a panic, his heart racing and the sobs that he fought to keep down would break free from his lips, and ricochet off of the cold, empty walls that imprisoned him. 

It was a hell Keith hopelessly prayed he would somehow escape when he left Earth, but living suspended in the final frontier only seemed to worsen it all. Dreams of the Galra consumed him to the point that it forged a deeply rooted fear within him - that someday, his connections to the Galra would take him over, turning him into a mindless, ruthless killing machine. 

Stomaching each and every agonizing night was easier when their day was so engaging. With all of the duties they had to attend to, they’d serve as a much-needed, and much-appreciated distraction, for the time being. 

But, once it was time to say “good night”, the harsh reality of facing another night alone would hit him like a ton of bricks.

Keith’s mask was more convincing some days than others. There had always been one person on board who could see through him effortlessly, as if he was made from nothing more than cellophane. 

Shiro had gotten the truth out of him faster than Keith would like to admit. Keith tended to keep all of his issues to himself, finding that his pain would be much easier to manage if he didn’t try to articulate it. 

The only thing that came close to hurting Keith as much as the nightmares was the look on Shiro’s face, when he explained he had been coping with such infernal nights for so long. 

It was almost as if Keith could pinpoint the exact moment Shiro’s heart shattered, with the look in those deep, brown eyes so _devastated._

Shiro had never been one to let things be, if he knew that there was something he could do to assist or even remedy a situation, he’d do so without a second’s hesitation - so his offer to spend every night with Keith wasn’t too shocking. 

Keith had refused it initially, believing that he’d cause Shiro more trouble than what he signed up for, but through tearful requests and far more kisses than Keith was expecting, he agreed to Shiro’s proposal.

Shiro became Keith's sanctuary. He relished in being able to spend the night with him, even if he was opposed to it at first. There was nothing quite like the feeling of security that would come with being enveloped in his embrace, his strong, comforting arms around his waist, his legs tangled with his own. 

Tonight, Keith had lost track of how many times Shiro had joined him, but, he didn’t care much for the numbers anymore. As long as he was there, Keith was assured that there was something soothing, something so unapologetically perfect to wake up to.

With their foreheads pressed together, Keith wonders if there had ever been another time in his life he’d felt so loved. Close enough to kiss, close enough to whisper sweet nothings reserved only for them two, he was at peace.

“I’ll be right here, Keith.” Shiro murmurs, dipping his head downward to allow his lips to graze over the supple, inviting skin of Keith’s neck. “I’ll always be right here.”

In Keith’s mind, _"always”_ was too powerful of a word to promise. 

Always meant that Shiro would never disappear again.  
Always meant that Keith would never have to worry about losing him.  
Always meant that nothing would ever break them apart.

And to believe that such a thing could even be possible was simply unreasonable.

But at this point, Keith would rather let himself feel at peace in his ignorance than heartbroken in his concept of reality. So, he doesn’t comment on the statement, just does whatever he can to make himself believe it.

Keith lets out a soft hum once the teasing of affection becomes real, adoring the feeling of each and every kiss pressed to his skin. “I know, Takashi, I know.” He responds, his hands raking back through Shiro’s mess of white and black hair, and he allows his fingers get to tangled in the soft locks. 

“Thank you.” Keith’s voice falls to his whisper, his amethyst eyes falling closed. The hardest part of each night when Keith was forced to acknowledge how exhausted he was, and know that he’d nod off in a matter of seconds; that his eyelids would grow far too heavy to keep up. “I don’t say that enough, and I’m sorry about it.” The apology is sealed with a kiss to Shiro’s temple.

Shiro raises his head upwards with the intent of a proper goodnight kiss, which he delivers, and it was enough to send Keith straight to cloud nine. How he managed to pour so much devotion into one act of affection, Keith would never know. 

“That’s because you don’t have to thank me.” Shiro answers once they part as if it was obvious, as if it were his sole livelihood to keep Keith sane, to talk him down after every despicable dream.

“Shut up.” Is Keith’s childish, grumpy comeback, puckering his lips for just one more kiss - to which, Shiro obliges him with no resistance, just the melodious laughter Keith had grown so fond of hearing. 

Keith’s hands move to cradle Shiro’s face, the pads of his thumbs slowly gliding across the high point of his cheekbones. Keith can hardly stay awake, his gaze half-lidded as he stares fondly into brown eyes deeper than any galaxy. “I’ll make it up to you one day. When we get back home.” He swears as he begins to doze off, eyes closing once more. 

“Oh, yeah?” Shiro teases with another chuckle as he leans into Keith’s gentle touch. “And how do you plan on doing that, _sweetheart?”_

The term of endearment was one fatal blow, welcoming a sleepy grin to curl onto Keith’s features. 

“I’ll marry you.”

Keith doesn’t have to see Shiro to know the look on his face. To know that those unfairly gorgeous eyes have gone soft, and that he wore a loving-sort of smile that was reserved for him, and him alone - Keith could hear it in the way he replied,

“I think I’ll hold you to that, Keith. We’ll find a place of our own.” 

Exhaustion carried Keith away from the man he loved, and thoughts far more foul would replace the feeling of love that was left swelling in his chest.

Keith wished he could control what he saw in his dreams. If it were up to him, he’d see visions of finally reaching home - God only knows how long that would take them. He’d see Shiro, and how time had done nothing but age him like a fine wine. He’d see them in not a house, but a home, happy and safe and warm. 

That, apparently, was too much to ask for.

Tonight, Keith saw a scene he thought to be familiar. He was amongst a fleet of Galra soldiers, and he wore their fearsome armor, too. His hold on his dagger from the Blade of Marmora was tight, as if it were the only thing anchoring him to reality. With frenzied eyes, Keith’s head whips around wildly, for he can see nothing but an endless army of killers, who sole intent was to wipe out the people he holds closest to his heart. 

The dream would have been a recurring one, if it were not for a scream. Keith knew that voice all too well.

It sends a wave of terror over his body, and every fiber of Keith’s being can only formulate the owner’s name. Keith leads with his shoulder, and uses all of the strength his body possesses to ram into the soldiers beside him, to break their tight formation. He claws, pushes, and shoves, until he stands in an empty plane, surrounded by nothing but darkness. 

“Where are you?!” Keith bellows, his strained voice echoing throughout the suffocating nothingness.

The voice sounds again, in complete and utter agony. It calls his name. 

_“Keith!”_

To hear him like that was like a punch to the stomach, all the wind having been knocked right out of him - leaving him gasping hopelessly for air. 

“Takashi!” Keith shouts desperately, reaching one hand forward as he runs, following the sound of Shiro’s voice.

“What are they doing to you?!” He cries out, and he can feel hot tears pouring down his cheeks before he can even make an attempt to keep them at bay. 

His surroundings soon begin to close in. Shiro releases another scream, one that sounds miles away. He’s far, too far for Keith to reach. 

_“Takashi! Takashi, I’ll find you!”_

Keith is brought back to reality, Shiro chanting Keith’s name like a prayer, again and again, as he gently shakes him by the shoulder. Keith meets Shiro’s gaze, a painful mix of fear and relief clouding his eyes. 

“They-” Keith stumbles over his words, his breathing frantic. It was felt so real, so horribly, cruelly real. 

“They had you, Takashi, they- _they had you_ , and I couldn’t find you! I couldn’t get to you- God, I _tried_ to get to you-”

It takes all of Shiro’s power to keep his composure. He needed to serve as a fortress for Keith. Impenetrable, and indestructible. If he let himself break, let himself show how much it killed him to see the man he loved in so much pain, he’d only be making it worse for him. 

So, Shiro puts on a brave face. One of Shiro’s hands move to the nape of Keith’s neck, and he inches him closer, to allow him to burrow his face in the crook of his neck. Then, both hands cascade down Keith’s figure, delicately, for in this state, Keith was a glass vase. Only the most careful of hands should even think of gracing his skin. 

Shiro rubs slow circles into his back, occasionally switching the position to go lower, higher, anywhere he felt knots of tension. 

“I’m right here, sweetheart.” Shiro’s hushed words resonate with Keith, and they loop endlessly in his brain. 

“No one’s taken me. I’d never let anyone take me away from you.” He had dipped his head downward in order to whisper each word into Keith’s ear, a hand rising to card slowly through his locks of raven black hair. 

“Never again.” 

Keith tries to stifle a sob, but it’s no use. The tears fall, pelting down onto Shiro’s shirt and skin, but he didn’t seem to care. Keith’s hands wrap around his torso, and bunch handfuls of his shirt, clenched fists resting over each of Shiro’s shoulderblades. 

“Takashi?” He chokes out, nuzzling his face further, hiding his face from his lover, and from the world. Keith yearned for a distraction, something better for his mind to latch onto to. 

“What is it, Keith?” 

Keith is silent for a moment, his teeth digging into his lower lip. “Tell me… Tell me about that place of our own.” 

Shiro’s face melts into a saddened smile, his eyebrows knitting upwards. He nods, and with a soft sigh, Shiro begins to describe his ideal place, a home for Keith and himself on Earth. His expression becomes more genuine as he goes, weaving together a future that the two of them can hold onto. A future where their worries are limited to the most simple of domestic issues, a future where they can wake up somewhere secure, and know that everything would be okay. 

And if Keith wasn’t getting any more sleep that night, the thought of somewhere waiting that he and Shiro could escape to was enough to fuel him to fight another day.

**Author's Note:**

> Can you tell how much I love the idea of Keith calling Shiro "Takashi"? 
> 
> Shiro and Keith's relationship is so beautiful? They're such a delight to write.
> 
> \- Also: bonus to whoever can find the "Walking Dead" easter egg. 
> 
> Thank you so much for reading! Feedback and comments would be appreciated! <3


End file.
